Fool
by Elwyndra
Summary: I once thought it was ironic that the Professor who had taught me the Dark Arts most effectively was a Death Eater out for my blood. A man whom I had been forbidden to see, to understand… and finally, to love. Barty Crouch Jr & Harry Potter One-shot SLASH


**Fool**

**A/N: **I've wanted to write a Barty Crouch Jr. & Harry Potter slash fic for _ages! _I guess it took me long enough, lol! I wonder why there's only a scarce amount of fics written about these two. I mean, c'mon! XD Oh well, maybe it's just my slashy eyes, lol.

The end, well.. I guess it was pretty inevitability… But you'll have to read and see to know what I mean! Harry is a bit OC in here, by the way… maybe almost Slytherin! But not too much, I hope! **Please review, no FLAMING!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling owns it. And the song used here is by Madonna, 'Devil Wouldn't Recognize You'. Fitting, don't ya think? ;D Her new CD rocks btw!**

**Summary: **I once thought it was ironic that the Professor who had taught me the Dark Arts most effectively was a Death Eater out for my blood. A man whom I had been forbidden to see, to understand… and finally, to love. **Barty Crouch Jr & Harry Potter – One-shot, SLASH**

**WARNING: SLASH! (:**

**X**

**You almost fooled yourself this time**

**Let all the saints be graced**

**You hide your sadness behind your smile**

**And you keep your lost heartbreak**

**You stepped up there along a ledge**

**It's much higher than it seems**

**But I've been on that ledge before**

**You can't hide yourself from me**

**X**

I once thought it was ironic that the Professor who had taught me the Dark Arts most effectively was a Death Eater out for my blood. I would never have guessed that the Mad Eye Moody I had assumed to know was not indeed the man he claimed to be. I should have stayed away from you. The black skies alone should have warned me of what would have been coming for me if I had continued to stay standing in the middle of that charred ground, surrounded by those ruined huts. Our encounter was not coincidence, but neither was it fate. I was a lion, a foolish animal that shouldn't have linked its claws together with the serpent; its venomous fangs had dug a deeper wound on me and extended its coils before I could escape.

And yet somehow... in the end, you lingered incessantly in my thoughts. You must have replaced the crimson flowing through my system that day, because it feels like there is a poison circulating inside of me that never fades, always turning my blood cold...

**X**

**"Mosmordre!"**

The glitter of emerald rushed through the air, from the tips of the wand's user. The green spark began to strike brutally at the sky, twisting it here and there so that the clouds represented the mark of the Dark Lord, gloriously shelved as part of the world.

_Exactly where it should lie... My Lord, your wishes have been obeyed! _Barty Crouch Jr. thought, a maniacal grin spreading over his face, something that would have been easily mistaken as a snarl. He lowered his wand reluctantly, his eyes flicking to and fro over the marvelous glow of the Dark Mark. He would have continued to admire his craftsmanship if he hadn't turned to look sideways.

A sound... It was small, but the Death Eater's senses were keen and sharp. He snapped his head towards its direction and his eyes narrowed like a feline cat's. In the midst of the burning flames and the fallen ashes of thousands of other wizardry items strewn on the ground with abandonment, Barty Crouch Jr. saw the standing form of an unfortunate human being.

_Prey._

Barty Crouch Jr. raised his wand hand again. For a second he stood, his skin pale and tinged with a trace of shimmering green light. His pitch-black coat whipped behind him as he took the first step, intent on knowing who had stumbled upon him. He looked like a Dementor if he were not walking instead of floating.

The figure turned, attempting to run. Or at least it looked that way, until a hand gripping something that looked like a wand and fixed itself at Barty Crouch Jr.'s direction.

"Expelliarmus!" a voice shouted, a young man's echo of desperation and confusion mingling within its ringing.

However the Death Eater was faster. The spell didn't even have a chance to touch its target before Barty Crouch Jr. laid down his own.

_"Crucio!"_

There was a tearing scream as the young man fell to the ground, his body writhing on the remnants of black soot and the overpowering smell of iron.

When Barty Crouch Jr. reached his victim's spasming body, he was in for a big surprise. His dark orbs widened when he saw the bare lightening scar on the young man's forehead and realization dawned on him at who exactly he was looking down at now.

Harry Potter lay there with his chest rising and falling, as if some invisible hand was pounding its fists onto them. There was a bruise beside the scar, growing purple by the minute. The boy's face was smeared with ash. His eyes were round with fear and yet his actions did not convey it. His body, in spite of the fact that it had just felt the full effects of a powerful spell, was already attempting to move again.

Of course, this did not mean Crouch was going to let that happen.

_"CRUCIO!"_ The Death Eater hissed loudly, this time with more hatred in his tone. He waited for the screams to commence, but instead he found, to his disappointment, that Harry Potter was nowhere near to giving his enemy the satisfaction of it this time.

"Well, well!" Crouch laughed crazily, flicking his tongue in and out, "If it isn't for Harry Potter?" The Death Eater chuckled as he kicked Harry in the ribs. The Boy-Who-Lived coughed, trying to breath as his fingers sunk its nails deeply into the dirt.

"Master will be extremely pleased! He would not even have to start with his plan to get your hands on you. What's more, you came walking right into my hands!" Crouch circled the boy, just in case the young wizard attempted to do something foolish, "The Master shall reward me fully and then he shall truly _rise_ again, cleansing the world as it should be!"

Harry was desperately searching for his wand, his hands gripping empty air in the pitch-blackness of the night. The green light that emanated from the Dark Mark frightened him, but his Gryffindor nature thwarted that emotion away to replace it with courage.

"Voldemort is dead!" Harry shouted as he pulled himself up with trembling hands. His eyes immediately met fiery brown. The look alone pierced his skin and made him feel like he was being attacked from the inside out.

"You _dare _speak his name..." Crouch snarled venomously, raising his wand high and pointing it to the wand less young boy. "That alone should have you _killed!_"

"Oh yeah?" Harry challenged, knowing how much danger he was in. But this Death Eater was really getting on his nerves. Stubborn as this might have seemed, he couldn't help but speak. "Like you said, your _'Lord', _if he's even _alive, _won't be too pleased to see me dead...! I know he'd _love_ to kill me himself!"

Crouch stood fuming, itching to silence the Potter brat once and for all. But he relaxed himself, flexing his fingers instead. If he lost control now, the Dark Lord will only reward him with agony... perhaps even death. And this he was not too ready for. He had a number of deaths he needed to make happen, including that of his _charming _father.

"Where are your little friends, you brat? Are you alone?" Crouch mocked with intensity in his voice that would have set anything near him in flames. His grip on his wand grew tighter. "Did they abandon you?"

"Abandon? No, unlike your kind, I have friends I can trust!" Harry answered, clearly disgusted to think that the man had just now compared his companions with the low-life scum of a Death Eater. He got up slowly, wincing as each movement he felt through his body made him want to lie down again. Harry ignored it, and focused on the task at hand. He took a second to look at the ground again, which now looked like a chasm painted beneath his feet. His wand was still nowhere in sight.

"Looking for this, Potter?" Crouch sneered, pulling out his other hand to reveal Harry's wand in his clutches.

Harry felt his heart grow cold. He had no other options left but to run now, like a coward with his tail between his legs. And even then he somehow doubted he'd be able to escape halfway before the Death Eater's spell hit him.

Crouch snickered as he played with his extra wand, making sparks fly out of its tip. "Your friends can't help you now, Harry."

Harry took a step back, looking over his shoulder. All he could see was a far stretch of wilting veils of smoke. There was nothing alive except for this man and himself. He turned back to look at the Death Eater and he saw the wolfish grin spread over the man's face. "Who are you?"

Crouch did not answer for a moment. He knew that it would not be wise to tell his real name to the boy even if he was sure that the Boy-Who-Lived would be captured and then killed in the Dark Lord's presence. It would not do to have his identity be found if anything should go wrong... not that it was going to. "Silence! My name is of no concern to you, _Potter._"

Harry was looking at his direction in a peculiar manner that Crouch did not like at all.

"It's strange. Most Death Eaters are proud of who they are and babble out their name without a moment's hesitation. But you..." Harry's words trailed off. He studied Crouch intently.

"Stop it!" Crouch snarled, pointing his wand warningly. He felt uncomfortable being looked at by his enemy, by those forest green eyes that he hungered to scorch to black. However it also reminded him of something familiar, someone he had lost long ago.

Harry, realizing he must have touched on something that might be advantageous to him, continued to stare, a small smile forming on his face. "No."

_"Imperio!" _

A frustrated growl escaped Harry as he felt the blast of the curse wash over him. He heard an order being snapped at by the Death Eater, and felt his eyes stare away from Crouch. _Oh no...! _Harry thought angrily and resisted the urge to obey anything the voice said. This caused Crouch to the curse out loud, making Harry grin.

"You _will _obey me, brat!" Crouch spat. He pointed his wand and shouted the curse again, knowing this will make the victim harder to resist.

"You can't make me do your bidding!" Harry yelled. He stared back at the blazing gaze of the Death Eater with a fierceness of his own.

Crouch cackled suddenly, as if he had heard an inside joke. His eyes became wild with vibrant colors of glee. "Oh? Really? Do you think I'd let you escape, Potter? I have your wand, and you are under an Imperius curse. What chance do you have of getting through this?"

The Death Eater looked up to see Harry's face again. He expected to see devastation, despair. He thought he had done a good job of hinting the words in. But he couldn't see a single tear nor a crease of the boy's worries etched on his face. It was calm that had taken its place.

"I'll fight. I won't go down fighting."

Crouch wrinkled his nose in disgust. And yet, he somehow understood it. If he were in the same situation, he would have stayed loyal to the Dark Lord no matter what was about to happen to him. He would have gone down fighting as well.

"You are brave..." Crouch whispered quietly, "I'll give you that."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "I heard that. Were you just acknowledging me, Death Eater?"

Crouch snorted, "I said nothing of the sort."

Harry's lips twitched at hearing this. "For a Death Eater, you're funny."

The Death Eater decided not to answer.

"C'mon, then, try and take me in. I'll bite your ear off if I have to keep you away," Harry warned. He was still trying to defy the curse that was pushing him under its chained weight. But he could feel it wearing off quickly, most likely because of the lack of concentration coming from the Death Eater.

"Do you not fear death, Potter? The Dark Lord will not have an ounce of mercy for you… You who had destroyed all his intricately designed plans. He will make you feel pain in ways you have never imagined. Before long…" Crouch paused abruptly, a crazy flash covering his face before he continued, "...it will drive you _mad._"

Harry didn't answer. Of course he was afraid. But he could never admit it, not in front of his enemy's henchman. "I won't let it happen. Besides, death is nowhere near frightening as being alive."

Crouch raised an eyebrow. He tried not to smile, but failed. It surprised him to think that Harry Potter, _the boy who lived_, was so much more different from what he had expected.

This time it was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You smiled."

Crouch frowned almost instantly. Hatred swept over the Death Eater, annoyance catching the curls of his lips so that it turned into an ugly twist of cruelty_. "Crucio."_

The Death Eater saw the young wizard tremble. He could see the breath of pain, the torment ripping through his face as he fell to the ground. Crouch watched this with an infectious flicking of his tongue.

Harry Potter writhed on the earth, curled tightly into a fetal position, only for his back to be snapped the other way in a sudden thrust. His spectacles had fallen off, left alone to reflect its master's torture through the clear glass. And then his lips, which the young wizard tried desperately to shut, were now wide open releasing a sound sweeter and more appalling then anyone would like to hear. The atmosphere seemed to change. The scream that pierced the painted darkness hid the stars that had come to position itself in its usual places. The ground seemed to shudder and the wind blew stronger than before. The executioner of this hideous spell only smiled, his brown eyes shimmering as the building fires bathed him in colors of red.

"It's interesting, isn't it? Can you feel it? It's delightful how your heart keeps skipping, knowing you're close to the edge of death!" Crouch growled with a nasty giggle, as if he were no more than a 5-year-old child, playing with his toy in the most macabre fashion. The Death Eater swiftly crouched next to Harry's stilling body. He grabbed the boy's rough, untamed coal black hair and pulled his chin up so that he could see the expression on his face. There was a sharp intake of breath from Harry.

Instantly the twisted cheerfulness in Crouch's voice disappeared. "Unlike you, compliments are an insult to me. For I do not _need _your approval nor your…" The Death Eater's eyes burned deathly, "…_kindness._"

Harry spat blood from his lips, wiping them with the back of his hand. _It hurt, it hurt so much. _He wanted to sleep, close his eyes to the face of malevolence that mocked him. _You can't… You CAN'T! _That voice in his head was the only thing that kept him awake. He knew what would happen if he slept. It would be the end of his life. The thought of this alone gave him more excruciating pain then that of the Cruciatus curse. His friends… His… family. The Professors in Hogwarts. Sirius. Everyone he knew will be devastated. No matter how miserable he may feel now, this feeling was not going to last for long. He was going to stand and fight it through.

Harry attempted to move. His head felt as if it was being spun around, while his whole body was dizzy from its invisible movement. The ache he had felt before was intensified a thousand times more heavily.

"You… are pathetic," Harry managed to whisper. He turned to look at the Death Eater in revolt. "I _pity_ you."

Crouch could not say anything for a moment. He was shocked at the nerve of this young wizard. The boiling fury in his chest was being fueled rapidly. With an enraged howl that sounded more inhuman, his eyes overflowing with the color of crimson, the Death Eater grabbed Harry's neck; more eager now to see the life in his eyes to die out. He stabbed his wand into the bottom of the boy's chin. "And you are foolish enough to _mock _me! I am-" the Death Eater wasn't able to finish.

Harry, who had been trying to force open the steel hand gripping his neck, realized that he was close enough to the wizard to grab his own wand. He only had seconds to do it. He could see the end of his wand poking out of the pocket in coat. His breathing was becoming erratic from the lack of air in his lungs. Knowing this was his only chance to live, his hand dived for the wand. His fingers grasped the wood and a sigh of relief was pulled out of his pressured throat. _"I-Impedimenta!"_

Both Harry and Crouch were knocked back by the blast of the curse, each of them flying in the air for a second before slamming onto the ground, ashes blowing everywhere. The burst of light that temporarily blazed through the area sizzled away into nothingness, but the burning emotion within each of them did not cease.

Barty Crouch Jr.'s hand was already lifting, the muscles stretching inside of his skin becoming tense with the strain of inflicting more than he could heal. The spell that was next to come slipped out, resembling that of water sliding over glass.

"Stupefy!"

Harry, who had just gotten to his feet with his wand in hand, had not a second to utter the counter curse before he fell to the ground, unconscious. The weapon he had claimed back was now nothing more than a slender, wooden toy again.

There was no enthusiasm on Crouch's face. No, replacing it was a look of aggravation. The Death Eater continued to point his wand at the Boy-Who-Lived's way, biting his lips hard. He wanted to _kill _the boy for the stunt he played now! Blood was running down his cheek in a thin line. Crouch let it flow. He licked it with his tongue, tasting it with a glitter in his eyes. The only thing stopping him from finishing off the young wizard was his Master.

The Death Eater kicked the wand out of Harry's limp hand when he reached him. Crouch looked down at the boy, his tongue flicking back and forth in a rhythm. The rage inside of him continued to brew, but now that was replaced. Looking down at the young wizard, he could see himself in the same state a long time ago, when he was puny, weak and insignificant, trying desperately to become a part of the Death Eater's ranks… and succeeding. The boy he was then had turned into the man he was now, but if not for his father, he would not have stood here. Crouch thought it was strangely ironic. That would be the only thing he had to thank his father for.

The Death Eater caught the sound of footsteps on the grave earth and frowned at where it was coming from. Then he averted his gaze towards the Dark Mark above his head, and he looked unhappily at it, upset that the glow was slowly starting to diminish.

"_Fool," _Crouch snarled at the wizard, kneeling beside the bruised face of the Boy-Who-Lived. _I hate him. I __**HATE**__ him. He __deserves__ to feel the pain, the deaths of every blood he shed so knowingly! He- _Crouch stopped thinking, realizing that a strange intruding emotion had taken its place with his odium. It was like a hiccup that made his entire skin tingle, a sensation he hadn't felt for quite a long time. And it was no longer irritating… it was _infuriating._ So much so that Crouch no longer desired to destroy just the boy physically. He wanted this boy's whole soul damaged within his broken body.

"Ergh! I should know better to interfere! But I… I can't help it!" Crouch murmured under his breath, wanting very much to crush his heart just to let it stop bleeding emotions.

His strong hand grabbed the collar of Harry's clothes, bringing it so that his nose was touching the young man's cheek. Harry continued to sleep and the man reviled the peace that had temporarily taken place on the boy's face. _It won't last… _Crouch thought with a silent laughter.

"_Rennervate."_

Harry Potter's closed eyelids opened, revealing his emerald orbs. It mirrored confusion and surprise. Crouch grinned widely. The Death Eater pulled the young wizard closely to his chest, slamming both their lips hard. Immediately Harry's eyes widened largely.

Crouch held Harry tightly, ignoring the resistance of hands that tried to push him. Crouch growled and pulled Potter even close, striving to dominate the boy with each punch and struggle. Harry refused to accept the tongue that traveled through his mouth, but he winced each time it gave him an electric pleasure sweeping through him.

_NO! No! Stop! NO! This is not happening! _Harry screamed in his head, struggling. At the same time, he could feel each of his guards loosening with the Death Eater's touch. It quickly made him numb, unable to think and to _concentrate…_

As if in response, the Death Eater's eyes hit Harry's own with a look that clearly showed victory. _Oh _yes, _Harry Potter, it IS happening!_

Harry, however, did not feel the revulsion that should have grown sturdily inside the pit of his stomach. Harry opened his eyes a fraction after he had screwed it tight, the confusion on his face to be replaced with realization. In mere seconds he was falling deeply for this man that he was supposed to despise. To hate. To loathe and to curse. But that only made him want more. There were too many things he was forbidden to know and understand.

And finally, to _love._

Suddenly their lips were ripped away. Harry fell to the ground in a heap, flustered and out of breathe.

A shriek of hysteric laughter entered his ears, and he got up as fast as he can. He saw the Death Eater chuckling like a madman, his tongue sweeping over his lips as if he was enjoying the aftertaste of something scrumptious. Harry's heart beat away like a piano key being hit violently and non-stop. There was nothing funny about this. The boy-who-lived stared intensely at the man until the man stopped his fit of laughter.

"You didn't resist!" Crouch hissed and yet at the same time he giggled through his teeth..

Harry pulled himself up and walked towards the dark wizard with an expression that confused the Death Eater. The man cocked his head only just slightly, perplexity sprouting inside of his eyes.

This time, Harry countered back with a crooked, ironic smile on his face. "You didn't either."

Crouch stopped, his amusement seeping away from him. This was not how he planned it, not like it at all. The boy should have been beaten down… should have been in a devastated state, or parallel to the previous reactions, in a blinding fury! It was not right, not supposed to be like this at all! It wasn't even close to what he had assumed. His lips thinned.

The Death Eater was becoming a victim to his own feelings, a prey instead of the predator. His heartbeat quickened, drumming harshly in his chest that he wondered why it didn't kill him already. _What you are feeling a merely LIES! _A voice in the back of his head yelled, denying the new emotion that now dwelled in him. It was the same voice that had made him want to kill, to crave for blood and pain. It was a voice of destruction. A voice that could be _trusted. _Crouch, however, faltered. It shocked him that at this very moment, when he needed this voice's guidance the most, he doubted it.

_No, not lies. The truth, the _real _truth. The final truth. A reality that will have me killed._

Somehow this thought brought a grin spreading over his face. _But well worth it._

This time it was not out of pure spite that their lips collided. No, this time it was so much more. The colors of their flags, the marks that pulled them apart was fraying away, fading slowly in color until it was a combined shade. They were a blurred anomaly, a gray matter in themselves. It was the most ancient magic interwoven, a silent prohibited taste of darkness and light. However this element promised a deadly end, for it held no morals.

As the dusk sharpened towards the nearing glow of sunlight, the sounds of feet rushing through the ruins grew louder… and_ louder…_

"_I do not want you,"_ Crouch snarled into Harry's ear when they released each other from the kiss. The parting left an ache deeply in their hearts.

Harry only laughed, "Neither do I."

They seized each other, their lips impacting with a pain that reminded them how alive they both were. Hands ensnared each delicate silk of the skin, teeth biting and then releasing. Harry gasped once or twice, his emerald eyes illuminating the night, as the Death Eater teased him, caressing each smooth line, tracing it not only with kisses but also with a sweep of his tongue. A shiver ran through his body at the Death Eater's volatile grip.

The dark mark over their heads were now barely seen, dots outlining its shape no more than stars glistening in toxic green.

And unexpectedly, Crouch ripped away from Harry, knocking back the boy. The Death Eater's face was wrought with humanity. All traces of cold carelessness were gone. The ferocity that he had worn had grown fainter. The young wizard with the lightening bolt scar was taken off guard by the abruptness of the change. He could see the regret in those eyes.

"_**I CAN'T!**_**"**

Harry didn't know whether the wizard was talking to Voldemort or to him. However he was not able to get an answer. Crouch had pointed his wand above him and shouted a spell. A blast of wind swirled around Harry. In his vision, the boy-who-lived could see the color of jade enclosing over him like a baby being carried lovingly in a mother's arms. Sleep took a hold of his hand. He cried out, trying to fight it back. His eyes were drooping, and everything was blurring. He could see the wavering outline of the Death Eater. With a final shout of protest, Harry fell.

**X**

This time with a cracked voice, the curse to bring forth the Dark Mark was once again expelled into the cold night. Crouch looked down at the form of Harry Potter below his feet and grimaced. An eerie remnant of smoke slithered around the young wizard's sleeping body.

"I'm not sorry…" Crouch growled softly.

"Over there!" a muffled sound hushed his breath. The Death Eater's teeth clenched together. With one last hesitant look at the Harry, he was gone.

**.Xx**

**xX.**

My lifelong devotion to the Master seemed distant when I thought of you. And it gave me fresh wounds, knowing that your death would be my Lord's salvation. Your blood had to be spilt, and I was the serpent to lure you to the apple and away from Eden. I watched you from the corner of my eyes, acted like all the mindless Professors would have expected me to, and deceived even Dumbledore in the process. You never noticed. You couldn't have noticed me in this sickly shape, but I… I knew you. At times it made me crazy, knowing you were so close. Knowing that each time I helped you win the challenges, I was driving you away from me.

I must have underestimated your capabilities and thought too highly of my Master's. You survived. I could not believe my eyes. My Master, the greatest Dark Lord of all time, had once again failed to kill you. I wondered then and there what had caused you to stay alive. Was it petty luck again? It made me feel foolish. It made me _angry. _However the thought of you still breathing had made my blood boil. I had caught a hold of you in the disguise of your Professor's arms and pulled you away from the scene. I ignored your tears and cries of choked pain, towards the stairs leading to the tower.

When I revealed my masterful plan against you, I saw the despair in your face. I could not stop from laughing again. It was too comical this time. Why couldn't I see you in that state before when we first met?

My blissful moment was cut short by _Dumbledore_. My glorious moment of triumph was stolen away so pitifully! But you, Harry Potter… I continued to laugh through gritted teeth, even while my lips were forced open, my throat being washed down by Veritaserum.

**X**

_How could I have been so stupid? So naïve?_

"_Who are you?" I demanded before Professor Dumbledore could even begin to question him. I winced as my wrist continued to bleed. Professor Mad Eye Moody, or so I thought, was grinning madly. His eyes, somehow, reminded me of someone, but I couldn't replace it._

"_Barty—" Mad Eye Moody was trying to prevent himself from speaking, but failed "C-Crou-ch J-Juni-ior.."_

_I froze. Images from the Pensieve fleeted by me, a single face appearing before my eyes. The Death Eater… __**Him.**__ I touched my lips and I winced even more horribly than from the pain of my wrist._

"_You're lying!" I cried, trying to shake those shoulders just so I can wipe the smirk off Mad Eye Moody's face. Quickly the Professors restrained my arms, pulling me back._

"_Veritaserum never lies, Potter," Snape's voice snapped._

_Even as Professor Dumbledore continued to bombard questions at the 'Barty Crouch Jr.' sitting on that chair, ignorant of the expression on my face, I started to feel the realization flooding through my system._

_I wished, right then, that it was all a dream. That I was in a nightmare and having a hard time being waken by Ron or any of my other friends. It was just a dream, a dream!_

_But the worst came when I saw the last traces of Professor Mad Eye Moody being shed away. This was no dream. It was real. IT WAS REAL._

"_Hello, Potter." You spat those two words out with that same light in your eyes. The same ones I remembered from our last encounter._

"_No…" I whispered._

**X**

"Oh yes, it is, Potter. This _is _reality!" I yelled, lunging at you. As predicted, your precious guards pushed me back. The hurt in your eyes was exhilarating.

"Do you know him, Harry?" Dumbledore, oh, _the fool!_

**X**

_I couldn't answer. My ears buzzed. All I could hear was the repeated words coming out of me. I knew everybody in this room could hear. But there was no stopping it._

"_I don't want you to die."_

**X**

"And I thought I told you I didn't want this." I growled, annoyed to see that the wizard actually _cared _for me. I…I didn't care for him! Why should I receive such a pitiful emotion from my own enemy?

But my breath caught in my throat, contradicting me other wise. The end had come, so abrupt and inconsiderate. This time there was no escaping it. My mother was not here to sacrifice her life for me, nor my father, dead by my hand. Even you are far away from my grasp. Memories of that single night, of moments with you teaching the Dark Arts, of growling strategies to use against the dragon evoked in me the familiar emotion… Regret. Time felt too short now. My Master, he will not rescue me.

Voices are crying out now, pulling you away from me. Struggling now not in my clutches, but in the grip of your own friends. It's ironic. You told me once that these _friends _of yours could always be trusted. Do you trust them now? Their judgement and beliefs? Everything? Because I do not see that affirmation in your eyes.

I had succeeded in breaking you, Potter. Just as I promised.

A pyrric victory it is. I'm not quite sure if such a thing could be called a 'victory'. I would have loved to touch your hair one more time, taste your lips until you were nothing more than blood washing down my throat. My sacrifice to my Master had become my inevitable downfall, a moment which I already knew will come. The Dark Lord has risen with the help of his beloved enemy, but what is most paradoxical was that I would fall by the ashes of the dead that I have made deranged and killed.

This does not make me flinch. Death was a relief, a final showdown of my existence. The light is far more merciful then the Master… and _far more weak…_

**X**

"_How… W-WHY!" I yelled at his face, spitting curses. I cried, hating him. How could it be him? Why had he hidden from me? I had longed to see him… but not like THIS! The betrayal stung, but not enough to poison me. My anger breathed fires of reminders back to me. Each word I shout at his direction, every syllable compiling itself into a curse, was just as foolish. Because his fate was already tied to the Grim Reaper. To the creature that will give him a kiss not of life but death._

_Rationality did not rule my mind any longer. The hands of my friends were now chains, pulling me away from my freedom. A man who jeered at my despair and laughed with so much humor it would almost seem as if he was never going to cease them._

_I ripped out of my restraints. In a blinding flash, reality was shattered, only for a moment. You moved as if knowing I would make a move. Your lips were battered, but I soothed them with my own, touching softly while you struggled to demolish me. The faint exclamations of my Professors was like a buzzing in my ear. When I breathed your scent again, your corrupted breath comforted me._

**X**

"_**Fool."**_

I smiled.

You smiled.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

**X**

**A/N: **The ending was hard, but I think it worked out all right. Please review? ;D


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